Kay C Dee, associate dean of learning and technology and professor of biomedical engineering, is lending her expertise in cell and tissue engineering, biomaterials, and engineering education as an associate editor of the Biomedical Engineering Society’s new Biomedical Engineering Education journal.

This international journal presents articles on the practice and scholarship of education in bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and allied fields. It documents and shares advances in the field as educators support student learning. The journal also passes along valuable insight into research, teaching, novel course content, laboratory experiments and demonstrations, educational outreach, and advising and professional development.

Dee is a member of the American Institute for Medical & Biomedical Engineering’s College of Fellows, an honor reserved for the nation’s top two percent of medical and biological engineers. This recognition was based upon her specialization in tissue-biomaterial interactions. Her work elucidated initial approaches in what is now a well-established field of research: the chemical modification of biomaterial surfaces to encourage clinically-relevant cellular functions. As this field grew, relevant educational materials for students were needed, so Dee co-authored an undergraduate textbook that has become a highly cited publication among education colleagues.

Dee also has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the National Science Foundation for her teaching skills in engineering design, regulatory affairs, and project management, and she received INSIGHT Into Diversity’s Inspiring Women in STEM award in 2017. She has been passionate about encouraging women to follow her into STEM career fields. As part of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, she has offered simple tips for parents to help their daughters prepare for a possible career in engineering.

In her role as associate dean of learning and technology, Dee has helped oversee budget creation/management and implemented strategic initiatives involving online education and faculty and staff development. She also was a founding member of a Rose-Hulman faculty group that has organized Making Academic Change Happen workshops, bringing research-based change strategies and skills to higher education faculty and administrators in the United States and around the world.